Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Day 2 with Fay: Draw Your Family Close with These Great Activity Ideas

As
grandparents, some of us have endless opportunities to gather our families for
fun times. Today’s post lists five ideas focused around Thanksgiving. Each idea
is presented from a different individual. Tomorrow’s post will give ideas to
share your heart with grandchildren who live far away.

Celebrated Author Fay Klingler

1.My
parents sponsored a treasure hunt in the desert. It was at Thanksgiving time.
We gathered there to cook a turkey in a pit my dad had dug in the sand, but the
treasure hunt could be held anytime of the year. We all got involved. We
parents helped the younger grandchildren. The clues were clever and led us on
quite a hike. I guess you could use any theme, but my parents used
“Thankfulness” and “Family Preparedness” for theirs. I can still see our
children running around with their cousins, giggling and having fun.

2.You
could have a family spelling bee at one of your family activities. Just the
grandchildren would participate, of course. The words to spell might have
something to do with your family, such as the names of family members and words
such as family, togetherness, aunt, uncle, cousin, or unity.

3.You
might make a wooden plaque for Thanksgiving that simply reads “Give Thanks” and
have all the children and grandchildren’s names hung from it. Or you could make
and hang wooden carved pilgrim girls and boys and paint them to depict the different
members of the family.

4.Several
years ago, we began using a special tablecloth for our Thanksgiving meal. It
was a cloth signed by every family member. When a grandchild turns three, he or
she gets to add his or her name to the others. (By that time they can usually
write the letters of their name and draw a little picture without too much
difficulty.) We don’t worry about the writing being uniform or neat and tidy.
The important thing is that all our names are there and that everyone is
included.

5.When
you count your blessings, it puts everything else in perspective. At our
Thanksgiving gathering, each person at the table takes a turn saying what they
are thankful for. Sometimes we distribute pieces of candy corn, giving each
participant a piece of candy for every blessing they mention. We haven’t
intended to initiate a spiritual discussion, but it is amazing how often it
turns out that way once you begin enumerating your blessings. [If you don’t
like the idea of adding more sugar to the holiday festivities, consider giving
a penny for every blessing the participant mentions.]

I
took these ideas from my book The LDS
Grandparents’ Idea Book, published by Deseret Book. Above I said, “Each
idea is presented from a different individual.” Here’s a little insider
information. There are about 400 ideas in that book. I asked around 50
successful grandparents for their suggestions. To expand the book to 400 ideas,
I used my imagination and put down things I would love to do with my family. Of
course, when planning activities, every set of grandparents must take into
account the likes and dislikes of family members. Some of the activities I
would love to do with my grandchildren for various reasons just simply will not
work. Others have been a great success. The grandchildren’s ages, the unity of
the family, and the family culture all have to be considered. Looking back,
some of the ideas that wouldn’t work for our family at the time I wrote the
book may be perfect to use now.